Higher level lensesIB Environmental Systems and Societies HL: Topic test

1. 1
   In 2010 Australia asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to rule on Japan's whaling programme in the Southern Ocean, which Japan said was for scientific research. Japan and Australia were both parties to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (1946), which created the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The IWC agreed a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. In 2014 the ICJ found that the programme was not for scientific purposes and ordered Japan to stop issuing permits for it.

   (a)

   What was the role of the International Court of Justice in this case?

   [1 mark]

   • AIt wrote a new treaty banning all whaling
   • BIt enforced the moratorium by sending ships to the Southern Ocean
   • CIt heard a dispute between two states and gave a legal ruling on how an international agreement applied
   • DIt voted on whether Japan could remain a member of the IWC

   (b)

   Which statement about international conventions and protocols is correct?

   [1 mark]

   • AA convention is legally binding on the states that sign and ratify it, while a protocol adds detailed obligations that may become legally binding
   • BA protocol can never become legally binding
   • CConventions apply to every country whether or not it has signed
   • DConventions are only advice that states may ignore

   (c)

   Explain how the 1946 convention shows that international agreements can generate institutions to help implement them.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 1: 4 marks

2. 2
   Sweden introduced a tax on carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels in 1991 and has raised it several times, so that it now exceeds US$100 per tonne of carbon dioxide. Before the tax, the price of heating oil did not include the cost of the climate damage caused by burning it. Since 1991 Sweden's greenhouse gas emissions have fallen while its economy has grown. Some industries pay a lower rate so that they do not move production abroad.

   (a)

   The price of heating oil before the tax did not include the cost of the climate damage. What does this show?

   [1 mark]

   • AThe oil market was working perfectly
   • BThe oil was too cheap to produce
   • CThat oil had no economic value
   • DMarket failure, because the free market imposed an environmental cost that was not paid by the user

   (b)

   Which statement describes the polluter-pays principle?

   [1 mark]

   • AGovernments pay for all clean-up from taxpayers' money
   • BThose who cause pollution should bear the costs of preventing or repairing the damage
   • CConsumers pay only when they are told about pollution
   • DPollution is acceptable if the polluter is a large company

   (c)

   Explain how the Swedish carbon tax applies the polluter-pays principle.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 2: 4 marks

3. 3
   Kenya's 2010 constitution states that every person has the right to a clean and healthy environment and places a duty on the state to protect it. The constitution also supports the Environment and Land Court, where citizens can take cases about the environment. Kenya also has county by-laws and national legislation on environmental management, and it is a signatory to international conventions. Several bills to tighten pollution rules have been delayed after lobbying by industry groups.

   (a)

   Explain what is meant by environmental constitutionalism, using Kenya as an example.

   [3 marks]

   (b)

   Using the information, discuss why environmental laws can be difficult to approve and why their success may differ between countries.

   [4 marks]

   Total for question 3: 7 marks

4. 4
   Costa Rica passed Forest Law 7575 in 1996, which created payments to landowners for the ecosystem services their forests provide, such as water regulation, carbon storage, scenic beauty and habitat. The payments are funded partly by a tax on fossil fuels. Forest cover rose from about a fifth of the land area in the late 1980s to more than half today, while the economy continued to grow, helped by ecotourism. Economists disagree about whether payments of this kind are enough to protect biodiversity.

   (a)

   (HL) Explain how ecological economics differs from environmental economics, with reference to the payments for ecosystem services in Costa Rica.

   [6 marks]

   (b)

   (HL) Discuss the relationship between economic growth and environmental welfare, and the extent to which eco-economic decoupling is possible.

   [6 marks]

   Total for question 4: 12 marks

5. 5
   The giant panda lives in bamboo forests in the mountains of south-western China. A census in 2014 counted about 1 860 wild pandas, and in 2016 the IUCN changed its status from Endangered to Vulnerable. Pandas are a major tourist attraction, the symbol of a large conservation charity and a source of income for panda reserves. Many people argue that pandas should be protected even if they brought no money at all. One breeding centre advertises that pairs left to mate without help are better because whatever is natural is good.

   (a)

   A conservation charity says that pandas should be protected because they are valuable even with no benefit to people. Which type of value does this describe?

   [1 mark]

   • AInstrumental value, the usefulness of something to humans
   • BIntrinsic value, the value of something simply for what it is
   • CMarket value, the price at which pandas can be sold
   • DLegal value, the value set by a court

   (b)

   The breeding centre claims that natural mating is better because whatever is natural is good. This is best described as

   [1 mark]

   • Aa rights-based ethical argument, because pandas have a right to mate
   • Ba consequentialist argument, because it judges the results of breeding
   • Ca virtue ethics argument, because it judges the character of the keeper
   • Dan appeal to nature fallacy, because something is not good or right just because it is natural

   (c)

   Explain why the instrumental and intrinsic value of pandas are not mutually exclusive.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 5: 4 marks

6. 6
   In 2015 the US Environmental Protection Agency found that around 500 000 Volkswagen diesel cars sold in the United States contained software that reduced nitrogen oxide emissions only during laboratory tests. On the road the cars emitted up to 40 times the legal limit. The company had advertised these models as 'clean diesel' and sold them partly to buyers who wanted a lower-impact car. Volkswagen later agreed to pay billions of dollars in fines and compensation.

   (a)

   The advertising of 'clean diesel' by a company whose cars cheated the tests is an example of

   [1 mark]

   • Agreenwashing, in which marketing gives a company a more environmentally friendly image than its actions justify
   • Beco-economic decoupling
   • Cenvironmental accounting
   • Dthe tragedy of the commons

   (b)

   The fines and compensation paid by Volkswagen are an example of which principle?

   [1 mark]

   • AEnvironmental accounting of non-use value
   • BTragedy of the commons
   • CThe polluter-pays principle, because the company had to meet costs for the pollution it caused
   • DEco-economic decoupling

   (c)

   Explain why greenwashing can have a negative impact on the environment.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 6: 4 marks

7. 7
   Australia's Threatened Species Strategy of 2015 set a target of culling two million feral cats by 2020, using shooting, trapping and poison baits. Feral cats, introduced by European settlers, kill an estimated 1.5 billion native animals a year and have contributed to the extinction of several mammals. Some animal welfare groups object to the methods used. Some Indigenous communities have said that decisions should respect their relationship with the animals and land on their country.

   (a)

   Outline how consequentialist ethics and rights-based ethics would each assess the plan to cull feral cats.

   [3 marks]

   (b)

   Discuss whether virtue ethics, and the views of Indigenous communities, would support the cull.

   [4 marks]

   Total for question 7: 7 marks

8. 8
   In 1982 North Carolina chose Warren County, where about 60% of residents were African American and many were poor, as the site for a landfill for soil contaminated with PCBs. Residents, church groups and civil rights leaders held protests for weeks and more than 500 people were arrested. The protests did not stop the landfill but are widely seen as the start of the environmental justice movement. A later study by the US General Accounting Office found that three out of four hazardous waste landfills in the south-eastern states were in mainly Black communities.

   (a)

   (HL) Explain how environmental movements and social justice movements have developed from separate histories but are increasingly seeking common goals.

   [6 marks]

   (b)

   (HL) Compare how virtue ethics, consequentialist ethics and rights-based ethics might each judge the decision to site the landfill in Warren County.

   [6 marks]

   Total for question 8: 12 marks

End of questions